Car-link-forming machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

O. B. BEACH.. GAR LINK FORMING MACHINE.

Patented Oct. 7, 1.890.

'(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. B. BEACH. GAR LINK FORMING MACHINE.

' No. 438,091. Patented Oct. 7, 1 90.

v Ltweowo Qwuamboz v 6@ Qu -OZ I i I flflozmeg. 1 r I A j 7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFTON B. BEACH, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

CAR-LlNK-FORMING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. $38,091, dated October '7, 1890.

Application filed December '7, 1887. $erial No. 257,178. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, CLIFTON B. BEACH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland, county of Ouyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Link-Forming Machinery, of which the following is a specification, the principle of theinvention being herein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

One object of my invention is improved machinery by which I can cheaply and quickly form from a solid piece of steel a car-link without joint and without weld.

Heretofore car-links .have been formed of welded or punched metal, the former being unsatisfactory by reason of the liability of its breaking at the weld and the cost of effecting the welding. In the case of solid steel carlinks, formed by punching out the interior or open portion of the link, no such objection could be urged; but the waste of steel incident to the punching process is great and increases considerably the cost of the finished link. In my improved machineryfor making links I swage the inner portion of the link down to a thin web or film, the metal thus swaged out being forced into the link itself, so that there is but this thin web to be finally punched out and wasted. As a further result of the swaging, I concentrate and strengthen the steel, so that the finished link is much more durable than it would be if it were formed merely by punching. The result is a better and more durable link at decreased cost.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the anvil and shear-table, showing the die with the steel bar from which the car-link is to be formed resting on the die. Fi 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the dotted line of Fig. 1, showing the anvil, die, hammer, shear, and bar in section, the ejector being shown in elevation and in lowered position, the shear-table also being in elevation. Fig. 3 is a face view of the hammer-die. Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the die and car-link blank and certain connecting parts, the hammer-die being shown in elevation and in raised position, the ejector also being in raised position as it forces the link-blank from the die. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the completed linkblank. Fig. 6 is a front elevation view of a stand of rolls and a plan view of a series of link-blanks which have been rolled through the same. This stand of rolls represents the modified form of apparatus for forming the link-blanks. Fig. 7 is a vertical section of the rolls, taken on the dotted line of Fig. 6.

The anvil A is provided on its outer face portion with die-opening a and with the vertical slot 1), fittingin which latteris the springpressed ejector O, provided at its central portion with shoulder c, and having bearing against this shoulder is coil-spring c, said spring having bearing at its opposite extremity on the mill-floor d Said ejector is also provided with annular slot 01, and engaging with this is clutch-rod e, that extends outwardly through horizontal opening 6' in the anvil. Its outer extremity is pivoted to lever f, and this latter lever is in turn pivoted to lug f, attached to the mill-floor. At its lower extremity the ej ectoris provided with shoulderstop 0 engaging with the mill-floor. Fitting in die-opening a is the die G, having central slot g, through which the ejector passes, and the die is also provided with the elliptical groove h for forming the body of the blank, the groove being bounded on its outer pe riphery by the shoulder portion h. The faces of the ejector and die are flush with one another when the latter is in lowered position, and the edges 77, of said ejector form the inner boundary of a portion of the groove h. The hammer-face K is attached to any suit able hammer, as K, and is provided on its outer edge with the rabbet j, that corresponds in size and form with the groove h, formed in the lower die. Spring-table L consists of face Z, flush, when in normal position, with the anvil-face, standard Z, and shoulder Z at its lower extremity, said shoulder having bearing, when the table is in its normal position, against wall on of the opening m. The stand ard passes through supporting-block n, and also through spring 12 which has bearing against said block and the under side of said face Z.

In preparing steel for the blanks I first take a bloom of metal and roll it down to a bar about four and one-half inches wide by one and one-half inches in thickness, and in the last roll-passes I roll the transverse groove 0 in the bar 0 to mark ofi the lengths of the different sections to be swaged into blanks. The metal bar is then introduced on the anvil A with the first transverse groove in vertical line with the cutting-hammer N, one carblank 19 resting on the anvil A, while the adj acent blank rests on the table L. The cutting-hammer is then actuated by suitable machinery, and, striking down on the metal bar, severs the first blank, which rests on the anvil, from the adjacent blank, which rests on the table, the edge 19 of the anvil and the corresponding edge of the cutting-hammer N conjointly operating as shears. The severed piece is then adjusted on the lower die and given a slight blow with the hammer to fix it in the die. The hammer process is then continueduntil the blank is swaged into car-link form, having, however, central web q, as shown in Fig. 5. The hammer-die is now elevated, and, by means of the lever f, the ejector is freed from its engagement with the rod 6 and is forced upward by the pressure of the spring, carrying with it in its movement the link-blank, which is freed from the die.

The force with which shoulder o strikes the mill-floor causes the ejector to he suddenly arrested in its upward movement and causes the link-blank to be freed from said ejector, no matter how tight its previous engagement with the ejector was. The groove h of the die is of car-link-body form,andinclosestheprojecting face portion h of the die that is of car-linkeye form. The companion die or hammer-die K has a projecting portion K, of car-link-eye form, surrounded by amarginal receding portionj, of car-link-body form, said projecting portion of the first die being projected a distance from the bottom of its surrounding groove equal to the distance which the projecting portion of the second die is projected from its surrounding receding portion. The ejector O is located within the portion inclosed by said groove and has its swaging-face flush with the projecting face h of the'die, and constitutes a part of the swaging-face of said die, and has solid bearing within the opening g of the anvil. The outer wall of said groove or receding portion h is continuous throughout and entirely incloses the groove. The projecting portion h of said die is located in a receding plane from the portionh. of the die-faceimmediatelysurroundin g said groove,

and hence the outer wall of said groove must project farther fromthe bottom of the groove than does the inner wall thereof. The swaged blank is then taken to a punch of any suit:

able description, and the thin web is then punched out from the center of the blank,

thus completing the link'P.

It will be observed thatIuse a bar thicker throughout than the thickness of the finished link, and it will also be noted that a section when first severed from the bar does not conform to the outlines'of the die. ing, however, the section is brought to the desired thickness, and the flow of this metal, to-

By hammer- I gether with the flow of the metal displaced by the faces of the dies as the upper is forced down upon the lower, will cause the blank accurately to correspond with the swaging portions of the die and hammer, leaving in the center nothing but the thin web spoken of.

The result of the whole process is a solid steel car-link without joint and without weld. In Figs. 6 and 7 I showa modified manner of forming the link-blanks. I construct a stand of rolls Q R, the rolls respectively provided with the cams rr and the depressed'surface q and the shoulder The prepared bar,

similar to the bar used in the swaging process, is rolled through the rolls, and the cams form the depressed or sunken portions in the links, forcing the metal out upon the depressed surfaces q and forming a link similar in shape to the link formed by the hammer and D die. In this modified form of apparatus the cam 1" corresponds with the raised inner portion of the die used in my preferred form, while the depressed portion q corresponds with the groove 71. in my preferred form, and the shoulder g with the outer wall of the groove. Therefore the rolls, formed as they are, may be looked upon merely as modified forms of dies or swagingtools, the lower roll corresponding to the die and the upper corresponding to the hammer shown in the preferred form.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings set forth in detail mechanism in embodiment of my invention. Change may therefore be made therein, provided the principles of construction respectively recited in the following claims are retained and employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention- 1. In car-link-forming machinery, a die having a groove of car-link-body form, sub stantially as set forth.

' 2. I11 car-link-forming machinery, a die having a groove of car-link-body form, the outer wall of said groove being continuous throughout and entirely inclosin g such formed groove, substantially as set forth.

3. In car-link-forming machinery, a die having a central projecting portion conforming to the eye of a car-link, and having a receding portion conforming to. the body ofa car-link surrounding said projecting portion, substantially as set forth.

4. In car-link-forming machinery, a die having a groove of car-link-body form, and having the projecting portion inclosed by said groove located in a receding plane from the portion of the die-face immediatelysurrounding said groove, substantially as set forth.

5. In car-link-forming machinery, a die having a groove of car-link-body form inclosin g a projecting portion of car-link-eye form, the outer wall of said groove projecting farther from the bottom of the latter than does the inner wall thereof, substantially. as set forth.

6. In car-link-forming machinery, the com bination, with a die having a groove of the form of a car-link body, of a companion die having a projecting portion of the form of a car-link eye, substantially as set forth.

7. In car-link-forming machinery, the combination, with a die having a groove of carlink-body form, of a companion die having a central projecting portion of car-linkeye form surrounded by a marginal receding portion of car-link-body form, substantially as set forth.

8. In car-link-forming machinery, the combination, with a die having a groove of carlink-body form inclosing a projecting portion of car-link-eye form, of a companion die having a projecting portion of car-link-eye form surrounded by a receding portion, said projecting portion of the first die being projected a distance from the bottom of its surrounding groove equal to the distance which the projecting port-ion of the second die is projected from its surrounding receding portion, substantially as set forth.

9. In car-link-forming machinery, the combination, with a die having a projecting portion of car-link-eye form inclosed by a groove of car-link-body form, of a companion die having a projecting portion of car-link-eye form inclosed by a receding portion of car-linkbody form, the distance of projection of the projecting portion of the first die from the bottom of its surrounding groove being equal to the distance of projection of the projecting portion of the second die from its said surrounding receding portion, substantially as set forth.

10. In car-link-forming machinery, a die having a groove of car-link-body form and having an ejector located within the portion inclosed by said groove, substantially as set forth.

11. In car-link-forming machinery, a die having a groove of car'link-body form and having a projecting portion of car-link-eye form inclosed by said groove, said projecting portion provided with an ejector, substantially as set forth.

12. In car-link-forming machinery, the combination, with a die having a groove of carlink-body form, of an ejector which constitutes a portion of the swaging-face of the die, substantially as set forth.

13. In car-link-forming machinery, the combination, with a die having a groove of carlink-body form, and having a projecting portion of car-link-eye form inclosed by said groove, of an ejector fitted in an opening formed in said projecting portion and having a solid hearing as a support when its face is flush with the said projecting portion, substantially as set forth.

14. In car-link-forming machinery, a springsupported sheartable, substantially as set forth.

15. In car-link-formin g machinery, the combination, with an unyielding anvil, of a yieldin g shear-table and a hammer located in same plane with said table, substantially as set forth.

16. In car-1ink-formin g machinery, the combination of a shear-table, an anvil adjacent thereto, and a cutting-hammer, the edges of said hammer and anvil respectively located in adjacent vertical planes, substantially as set forth.

17. In car-link-forming machinery, the combination of an anvil, a car-link die, and a hammer adapted to engage with the latter, a shear-table, and a hammer adapted to en'- gage With the latter, the shearing-edges of said latter hammer and the anvil respectively located in adjacent vertical planes, substantially as set forth.

18. In car-link-forming machinery, the combination, with a die having a groove of carlink-body form, of a spring-pressed ejector located Within the portion inclosed by said groove and a clutch which looks said ejector against movement of the compressed spring, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing to be my invention I have hereunto set my hand this 3d day of December, A. D. 1887.

CLIFTON B. BEACH.

Witnesses:

J. B. FAY, E. J. OLIMo. 

